Time to Hit the Road and Pitch a Tent

We are leaving behind this view...from our deck.

My husband and I are not sensitive about acknowledging that we have made it over the hill and pretty much lost sight in the rear view mirror of the spring chickens who used to roost in our stead. Our graying hair, painful joints and Medicare cards are constant reminders that the mental image we have of ourselves and our physical reality are distant cousins. We always seem to be in a constant battle between not wanting to accept that there are any limitations that age has imposed on us, spewing "Pshaws" and rolling our eyes at the mere suggestion that we have lost anything in earning the years we have and silent, guilty acceptance that yes, we want to sit down, and yes, that is heavy and yes, I'm tired of walking, damn it!

We are truly retired...suddenly gifted with a lot of time to do "things" but growing uncomfortable with the excitement we feel at the prospect of another trip to Walmart!  Just having the time to do things we used to have to schedule is NOT the goal.  Doing things we always wanted to do but didn't have the time, now THAT'S a goal!

So, with no small amount of trepidation we have decided to embark on a major adventure; partly out of the sense that we need to take our bucket lists seriously and partly, I suspect, because we are too damn reluctant to say "It's too late!"  We are starting with a 4,000 mile tent-camping trip! What makes this particularly noteworthy is that we are NOT experienced campers.  The last time I did official full scale, multiple night camping with fire building and all of that was when I was in college! So, we are going to do "wimpy camping".  This means that we will always have access to showers, usually to electricity and WiFi.  We will still be pitching a tent, cooking outdoors, and braving rather cold weather but we are excited! We have purchased an inflatable, queen size, high rise mattress, a whole kitchen stand for our stove, spices, utensils, pots and pans and even a sink!

Mt. Rushmore, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone

Our destinations include Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, Zion National Park, the Grand Canyon and the Big Bend Country in Texas. One of the primary challenges we will face is that night time temperatures in Yellowstone are predicted to get to around 25º F! Imagine camping out in your refrigerator?  It's going to be colder than that!  So we have purchased cold weather sleeping bags, extra warm socks, hats, fleece everything and we are hoping that the campsite is real close to the potty! Another challenge will be the wildlife...I watched a documentary the other day on Yellowstone and have a new respect for the task we are taking on.  I learned two important things from that documentary. What to do in the event you run into a Grizzly and that defecating on yourself is not a proven survival technique!

We leave on Labor Day so stay tuned as the adventure continues.